The Challenge

Due to the complexity of the client’s shared campus and the focus on the site’s high containment laboratories, the client required a team of security and biosafety professionals to cover a wide range of expertise needed to give a complete assessment of their security at the campus.

The Solution

World BioHazTec assembled a team of consultants, each bringing unique expertise to the table, ensuring a comprehensive assessment of site security. Our approach involved evaluating the effectiveness of the existing security program through various methods, including guidance documents, interviews, document reviews, and on-site inspections. Our goal was to provide actionable recommendations aimed at optimizing their security measures and bringing them in line with industry standards including those described in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL), 6th Edition. World BioHazTec was also tasked with assessing if the existing security and associated high containment laboratory programs would meet industry best practices for future planned work with Biological Select Agents and Toxins (BSAT) up to Tier 1 based on the CDC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP) requirements.

The Result

World BioHazTec conducted virtual interviews with critical staff members that related to high containment laboratory use. Access to the site, owned and leased buildings, and high containment areas was provided. We walked the perimeter of the campus, parking lots, loading docks, and occupied buildings and spoke with staff. We then delivered a Report of Findings that provided recommendations and best practices that would allow the client to evaluate and consider applying to their campus and high containment security programs. The report described both gaps in the current program’s needs for security and biosecurity, as well as those identified for the proposed addition of Tier 1 BSAT. We presented observations and identified issues in the report with recommendations to guide the client to achieve a more secure, safe, and healthful work environment.